Two transgender rights bills introduced in Pak parliament for the first time

In a first at aiming to secure the rights of transgenders in Pakistan two bills were introduced in the National Assembly.

The bills include amendments to the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), as well as the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2017 were tabled by (Jamiat Ulema-e Islam) JUI-F’s Naeema Kishwar Khan during private members’ day.

These bills will ensure the penalty for offences against transgender individuals and make it illegal to deprive such persons from inheriting property, unlawfully evict them from any premises or deny them entry to educational institutions.

According to the Dawn, “Before this, the only legal recognition of transgender individuals’ rights in Pakistani law had come from a Supreme Court ruling that conferred a number of fundamental rights, such as inheritance, issuance of a CNIC and entitlement to jobs, along with protection from police harassment.”